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Brief resume of the study tour
Despite the shock of leaving the open air street cafes of Jaffa at lunchtime to fly back to gridlocked icy roads, participants in FODIP’s first Study Tour to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories have provided overwhelmingly positive feedback.
Seventeen strangers - Jews, Christians and Muslims - travelled together for 9 days, meeting people and ‘hearing the voices’. Although coming from different backgrounds and perspectives, we soon ‘gelled’ as a group. As well as our own individual opportunities for worship, we attended together mosque prayers in Nazareth, a church service in Bethlehem and Kabbalat Shabbat in Jerusalem.
While exploring our own and each others’ religious traditions in ‘the Holy Land’, we also engaged with the difficult issue of Israeli/Palestinian relations. We heard from young people involved in dialogue, as well as inspirational speakers such as Rabbi Arik Ascherman of Rabbis for Human Rights and Ali Abu Awwad, who has visited Britain many times with the Bereaved Families Forum. An early visit to the Centre for Humanistic Education at the Ghetto Fighters’ Museum and Wahat al Salam/Neve Shalom highlighted practical educational work.
There were painful and poignant moments. These began on our arrival when six members of the group spent three hours in a small room at Ben Gurion airport being ‘checked out’. Other such experiences included the ‘refusal of entry’ of some of us to some places of worship, the visit to a ground-breaking Bedouin school and the Deheisha refugee camp. At the last place, we were all moved when one of our (Jewish) participants took the hand of a young Palestinian boy as a truck squeezed past on the narrow track.
There were enjoyable times, too. One particular feature was the opportunity for ‘home hospitality’ – with kibbutzniks, Jewish Orthodox and Reform families on Friday evening and Christian and Muslim hosts in East Jerusalem.
FODIP’s remit is to encourage religious people to work together in the UK despite our different perspectives. This was underlined by Ali Abu Awwad who told the group: ‘If you can’t be part of the solution, don’t be part of the problem’ and asked us ‘not to export the conflict to Britain’.
The programme was put together and delivered by Ophir Yarden of the Inter Religious Co-ordinating Council of Israel (ICCI) and FODIP’s Director Jane Clements.
“A life-changing trip.”
“I have never had such a wide-ranging and though-provoking travel experience in such a short time.”
“It was stunning and overwhelming to discover new dimensions of my own faith whilst sharing important ‘moments of faith’ with Muslims and Jews.”
“It was an absolute privilege to be included in the group and even in the more uncomfortable and challenging moments I have learned a great deal.”
“I will always treasure the experience and fully intend to translate it into practical action which will work to unite faith communities both in the UK and in Israel/Palestine.”
“The most stimulating of my 4 visits to Israel/Palestine to date.”
“I have learnt a lot about the situation in Israel and will cascade this within the university when I return.”
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